The driver and passengers of a double decker bus were lucky to escape unscathed after it was engulfed in flames.

Firefighters were called at 1.36pm on Thursday after the bus caught alight while travelling towards St Keverne, just past Zoar.

Such was the heat of the flames that they caused serious damaged to the surface of the road, which had to be closed for more than 24 hours while repairs were carried out.

Mickey Harding was a passenger on the bus when it caught fire on his way home to St Keverne.

He told the Helston Packet: "There was a noise from the back of the bus, like a thud. Then there was this smell of smoke.

"The driver told everyone to get off. He made sure everyone was off and safe, then he told everyone to keep moving away, because it might exploded. He did everything he could."

Mr Harding said he and his fellow passengers, which were made up of around five adults and three children, had to walk "a fair distance" around a corner to make sure they were safe enough away.

"It was all black smoke, then there was an explosion," he added, describing a series of "little explosions" that could have been tyres going up.

Some of the passengers, including a young mum with three children, walked the rest of the way home, while others managed to get lifts from passing cars or family and friends.

Mr Harding said it all happened "so quickly" that it was only afterwards that he stopped to think about what he had been involved in.

Saying he would like to thank the bus driver for his efforts, he added: ""The bus driver did everything he could, and perhaps if it had been a few seconds later it could have been more fatal, but he got everyone off safely."

Initial estimates suggested the road would be closed for "two to three days," according to police, but Cormac worked around the clock to get it back open by 5.30pm the following day.

During that time a short diversion was put in place through nearby lanes, which cut off the damaged section of road before bringing people back to the main road.

However, the initial diversion route had to be amended when a bus travelling between St Keverne and Helston later the same day ended up getting stuck in ditch - causing further delays.

A spokesperson from Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Cornwall Fire Service attended and called police to help manage the traffic. We had to amend the diversion route because a bus got stuck.

"The road surface [was] seriously damaged as a result of the fire."

Fire crews attended from St Keverne, Mullion and Helston and wore breathing apparatus while they put out the fire with hose reels.